Circuit board formation using organic substrates

ABSTRACT

A method of forming a circuit board includes forming a conductive pattern on a substrate; forming a first negative resist on the substrate after formation of the conductive pattern; partially exposing the first negative resist on the surface of the conductive pattern to form a first via exposure portion; forming a second negative resist on the substrate after formation of the first via exposure portion; partially exposing the second negative resist on the first via exposure portion to form a second via exposure portion larger than the first via exposure portion; developing the first negative resist and the second negative resist after formation of the second via exposure portion to form a via opening reaching the conductive pattern; and filling the via opening with a conductive material.

PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional applicationSer. No. 14/817,378, entitled “CIRCUIT BOARD FORMATION USING ORGANICSUBSTRATES”, filed Aug. 4, 2015, which claims priority to JapanesePatent Application No. 2014-166328, filed Aug. 19, 2014, and all thebenefits accruing therefrom under 35 U.S.C. §119, the contents of whichin their entirety are herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to a method of forming a circuit boardand, more specifically, to a method of forming a circuit board includingwiring with conductive vias.

Interposers with fine wiring are required in three-dimensional chipstacking and so-called 2.5-dimensional packages. An interposerestablishes an electrical connection (relay) between mounted IC chipsand between an IC chip and a wiring board. An interposer requires awiring thickness that is not much thinner than the current thicknessfrom the perspective of electrical characteristics. In other words,wiring with a high aspect ratio is required.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a method of forming a circuit board includes forming aconductive pattern on a substrate; forming a first negative resist onthe substrate after formation of the conductive pattern; partiallyexposing the first negative resist on the surface of the conductivepattern to form a first via exposure portion; forming a second negativeresist on the substrate after formation of the first via exposureportion; partially exposing the second negative resist on the first viaexposure portion to form a second via exposure portion larger than thefirst via exposure portion; developing the first negative resist and thesecond negative resist after formation of the second via exposureportion to form a via opening reaching the conductive pattern; andfilling the via opening with a conductive material.

In another aspect, a circuit board includes a conductive pattern formedon a substrate; a first negative resist formed on the substrate and theconductive pattern; the first negative resist having a first viaexposure portion formed on the surface of the conductive pattern; asecond negative resist formed on the first negative resist having afirst via exposure portion; the second negative resist having a secondvia exposure portion formed on the first via exposure portion, thesecond via exposure portion larger than the first via exposure portion;a via opening formed corresponding to the location of the first andsecond via exposure portions defined by concurrent development of thefirst and second negative resists, the via opening reaching theconductive pattern; and the via opening filled with a conductivematerial.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method of forming a circuit board inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 2(a)-2(i) are a series of cross-sectional diagrams illustratingthe individual operations described in FIG. 1, in which:

FIG. 2(a) illustrates a conductive pattern formed on a substrate;

FIG. 2(b) illustrates a first negative resist formed so as to cover thesubstrate and the surface of the conductive pattern;

FIG. 2(c) illustrates a photomask and the first negative resist exposedto light;

FIG. 2(d) illustrates a second negative resist formed to cover thesurface of the exposed first negative resist over the entire substrate;

FIG. 2(e) illustrates light-shielding areas of the photomask provided toform unexposed areas in the second negative resist to form wiring;

FIG. 2(f) illustrates the development of formed via openings in theunexposed areas, and wiring openings in the unexposed areas;

FIG. 2(g) illustrates a seed layer formed on the surface of the firstnegative resist and the second negative resist including the surfaces ofthe via openings and the wiring openings;

FIG. 2(h) illustrates a conductive material formed on the seed layerusing electroplating;

FIG. 2(i) illustrates the surfaces plated with the conductive materialpolished to remove the conductive material except for the conductivevias in the via openings and the wiring layer in the wiring openings;

FIGS. 3(a)-3(d) are series of cross-sectional views illustrating aconventional circuit board formation process, in which:

FIG. 3(a) illustrates first via exposure portions formed in the firstnegative resist;

FIG. 3(b) illustrates an opening formed by the developed first viaexposure portion filled with a conductive layer to form a conductivevia, and the second negative resist formed after the conductive via;

FIG. 3(c) illustrates the wiring portion of the second negative resistexposed using a misaligned photomask;

FIG. 3(d) illustrates development of the second negative resist whichexposes the surface of the conductive via and comes into contact with anadjacent wiring opening, result in a short circuit;

FIGS. 4(a)-4(d) are series of additional cross-sectional views of themethod in FIGS. 1 and 2(a)-2(i), for comparison with FIGS. 3(a)-3(d), inwhich:

FIG. 4(a) illustrates first via exposure portions formed in the firstnegative resist;

FIG. 4(b) illustrates the second negative resist formed beforedevelopment of the exposed first negative resist;

FIG. 4(c) illustrates exposure of the wiring portion of the secondnegative resist using a misaligned photomask during simultaneousdevelopment of the first negative resist and the second negative resist;and

FIG. 4(d) illustrates the resulting narrow via opening such that thereis no contact with the adjacent wiring opening, resulting in a shortcircuit less likely to occur.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Interposers are currently made primarily using a silicon substrate;however, they are expensive and this limits their use. If interposerscould be created using an organic substrate made of an organic material,these costs could be reduced and their application could promote thespread of three-dimensional stacking.

Unfortunately, interposers created with an organic substrate using themethods of the prior art experience certain problems. For example, thedimensions of each type of pattern tend to be unstable due to theproperties of organic materials. In addition, exposure and developmentprocesses are repeated multiple times, which makes the manufacturingprocess more complicated. Accordingly, there is a need to solve thisproblem associated with the creation of organic substrates by providinga method of creating a circuit board with more applications (includingwiring board and interposer) even when an organic substrate is used.

A method of creating a circuit board is provided in one aspect of thepresent invention. This method includes forming a conductive pattern ona substrate; forming a first negative resist on the substrate afterformation of the conductive pattern; partially exposing the firstnegative resist on the surface of the conductive pattern to form a firstvia exposure portion; forming a second negative resist on the substrateafter formation of the first via exposure portion; partially exposingthe second negative resist on the first via exposure portion to form asecond via exposure portion larger than the first via exposure portion;developing the first negative resist and the second negative resistafter formation of the second via exposure portion to form a via openingreaching the conductive pattern; and filling the via opening with aconductive material.

In one aspect of the present invention, simultaneous development of thetwo negative resists (the first negative resist and the second negativeresist) does not remove the two negative resists but rather forms apermanent resist (interlayer insulating layer) which significantlyreduces the number of production steps for circuit boards containingconductive vias.

In one aspect of the present invention, forming the second via exposureportion includes simultaneously partially exposing the second negativeresist outside of the first via exposure portion to form a conductivewiring exposure portion; forming a via opening reaching the conductivepattern includes simultaneously forming a wiring opening in the secondnegative resist; and the step of filling the opening with a conductivematerial includes simultaneously filling the wiring opening with theconductive material.

In one aspect of the present invention, simultaneous formation of theconductive vias and wiring further reduces the number of productionsteps for circuit boards containing conductive vias, and shortcircuiting caused by misalignment of conductive vias and wiring can beavoided.

The following is an explanation of an embodiment of the presentinvention with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a flowchart of amethod of forming a circuit board in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 2(a)-2(i) are a series ofcross-sectional diagrams illustrating the individual operationsdescribed in FIG. 1. The following is an explanation of the exemplarymethod of the present invention and a circuit board obtained using thismethod with reference to FIG. 1 and FIGS. 2(a)-2(i).

In operation S11 of FIG. 1, a conductive pattern is formed on asubstrate. As shown in FIG. 2(a), a conductive pattern 12 is formed onthe material (base material) of a substrate 10. The base material can beorganic or inorganic insulating material or a semiconducting materialsuch as silicon. The conductive pattern 12 can be obtained by forming aseed layer and patterned resist on the substrate 10, forming aconductive layer such as a copper layer using electroplating, and thenremoving/etching the remaining resist and seed layer.

In operation S12, a first negative resist is formed on the substrate 10with the formed conductive pattern 12. As shown in FIG. 2(b), a firstnegative resist 14 is formed so as to cover the substrate 10 and thesurface of the conductive pattern 12. The first negative resist 14 is aso-called negative type photoresist, and is made of a photosensitivematerial whose exposed portions remain altered. The first negativeresist 14 can be formed by using a conventional application technique(spin coating, etc.) using a photosensitive material (resin, polymermaterial).

In operation S13, a first via exposure portion is formed in the firstnegative resist 14. As shown in FIG. 2(c), a photomask 16 includingunexposed (light-shielding) areas 18 is disposed on the substrate 10,and the first negative resist 14 is exposed to light 20. The photomask16 is positioned so that the light-shielding areas 18 are directly abovethe photoresist pattern 12.

The areas 22 of the first negative resist 14 beneath the light-shieldingareas 18 of the photomask 16 are not exposed, and these are removed in asubsequent development step (S16) to form first via areas. Onecharacteristic of the method of the present invention is that the firstnegative resist 14 is not developed immediately after exposure. Directexposure using a laser beam (laser direct imaging) may be used insteadof using a photomask 16.

In operation S14, a second negative resist is formed on top of the firstnegative resist 14 after exposure. As shown in FIG. 2(d), the secondnegative resist 24 is formed so that it covers the surface of theexposed first negative resist 14 over the entire substrate 10. Thesecond negative resist 24 can be the same negative type photoresist usedfor the first negative resist 14, and the same method of formation canbe used.

In operation S15, second via exposure portions are formed in the secondnegative resist 24. As shown in FIG. 2(e), a photomask 26 includinglight-shielding areas 28 is disposed on the substrate 10, and the secondnegative resist 24 is exposed to light 20. The photomask 26 ispositioned so that the light-shielding areas 28 are directly above theunexposed areas 22 of the first negative resist 14.

The areas 30 of the second negative resist 24 beneath thelight-shielding areas 28 of the photomask 26 are not exposed, and theseare removed in a subsequent development operation (S16) to form secondvia (pad) areas on top of the first via areas. A dual damascenestructure made of first via exposure areas and second via (pad) exposureareas can be obtained by making the size (inner diameter) of thelight-shielding areas 28 of photomask 26 larger than that of thelight-shielding areas 18 of photomask 16.

In operation S15, an area to become wiring (conductive pattern) can beexposed at the same time that the second via (pad) exposure portions areformed (exposed). In FIG. 2(e), light-shielding areas 29 of thephotomask 26 are provided to form unexposed areas 31 in the secondnegative resist 24 to form wiring. One characteristic of the method ofthe present invention is that second via (pad) exposure and wiringexposure are performed at the same time. As explained below withreference to FIG. 3, this can also reduce the likelihood of shortcircuiting caused by misalignment during exposure.

In operation S16, the exposed first negative resist 14 and secondnegative resist 24 are developed using a developer. As shown in FIG.2(f), the development formed via openings 32 in the unexposed areas 22and 30, and wiring openings 34 in unexposed area 31. The via openings 32reach the surface of the conductive pattern 12.

One characteristic of the exemplary method in the present invention isthat the first negative resist 14 and the second negative resist 24 arenot removed but remain to form a permanent resist that functions as aninterlayer insulating layer. This reduces the number of developmentsteps and also eliminates the resist removal step.

In operation S17, the via openings 32 and wiring openings 34 formedafter development are filled with a conductive material (conductors). Anexample using a plating method is shown in FIG. 2(g) through 2(i). InFIG. 2(g), a seed layer 36 is formed on the surface of the firstnegative resist 14 and the second negative resist 24 including thesurfaces (inner surfaces) of the via openings 32 and the wiring openings34. In FIG. 2(h), conductive material (a conductive layer) 38 is formedon the seed layer 36 using electroplating. In this way, the via openings32 and wiring openings 34 are filled with the conductive material. Anexample of a conductive material that can be used is copper.

In FIG. 2(i), the surfaces plated with the conductive material 38 arepolished to remove the conductive material 38 except for the conductivevias 40 in the via openings 32 and the wiring layer 42 in the wiringopenings 34, and to flatten the polished surface. The polishing can beperformed using chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) or some otherpolishing method. For example, an electrodeposition resist can be formedon the conductive material 38 in FIG. 2(h), the surface of theelectrodeposition resist can be buffed or chemically etched to flattenthe surface, and similar flattening can then performed by removing theremaining electrodeposition resist.

A circuit board structure in which a plurality of the structures shownin FIG. 2(i) have been stacked can be obtained by forming an insulatinglayer of an organic material on the flattened structure in FIG. 2(i)obtained by performing operations S11 through S17 in FIG. 1 and thenrepeating operations S11 through S17. A single or stacked circuit boardstructure can be used as a single circuit board or as a so-calledinterposer to provide electrical relays between circuit boards orbetween a circuit board and a semiconductor chip.

The following is an explanation of the advantages of the presentinvention with reference to FIGS. 3(a)-3(d) and FIGS. 4(a)-4(d). FIGS.3(a)-3(d) show the processes in the f the prior art in which the viaportions and the wiring portions are formed (exposed) separately. Incontrast, FIGS. 4(a)-4(d) again show the processes in the method of thepresent invention in which the via portions and the wiring portions areformed (exposed) simultaneously. FIG. 3(a) of the prior art is the sameas FIG. 4(a) of the present invention, and also corresponds to FIG.2(c). In other words, first via exposure portions (actually unexposedareas) 22 are formed in the first negative resist 14.

In FIG. 3(b), the first via exposure portion 22 formed in FIG. 3(a) isdeveloped to form an opening, the opening is filled with a conductivelayer to form a conductive via 44, and the second negative resist 24 isformed. Here, the second resist 24 is formed after the conductive via 44has been formed. In contrast, FIG. 4(b) of the present invention, asexplained above with reference to FIG. 2(d), development or formation ofthe opening is not performed immediately after the first via exposureportion 22 has been formed.

In FIG. 3(c), the wiring portion of the second negative resist 24 isexposed using a photomask 26. Unexposed areas 30 are formed by thelight-shielding portions 28 of the photomask 26. Here, the photomask 26is misaligned and one of these areas 30 is formed directly above theconductive via 44. Therefore, when the second negative resist 24 isdeveloped, the wiring opening 34 after development exposes the surfaceof the conductive via 44 as shown in FIG. 3(d), and the conductive via44 comes into contact with an adjacent wiring opening 35 (see thedotted-line circle indicated by arrow A). As a result, a short circuitlater may occur between the conductive layer (wiring layer) filling thewiring opening 35 and the conductive via 44.

However, in the present process, as shown in FIG. 4(c), when exposure ofthe wiring portion of the second negative resist 24 occurs using aphotomask 26, in the event the photomask 26 is misaligned, and one ofthe areas 30 is formed directly above an exposure area 22 of the viaportion, the right side 23 of the first via exposure portion (actuallyan unexposed area) 22 of the first negative resist 14 is exposed (seethe dotted-line circuit indicated by arrow B). As a result, as shown inFIG. 4(d), during simultaneous development of the first negative resist14 and the second negative resist 24, the via opening 32 is narrow (seethe dotted-line circuit indicated by arrow C) so there is no contactwith the adjacent wiring opening 35. As a result, a short circuit isless likely to occur later between the conductive layer (wiring layer)filling the wiring opening 35 and the conductive layer (conductive via)filling the via opening 32.

Here, the conductive via formed in the opening 32 has a so-calledlandless via structure. In order to take into account the narrowing ofthe width (diameter) of the via opening 32 and avoid an increase inelectrical resistance in the conductive via, the width (diameter) of thefirst via exposure portion 22 may be increased to ensure that theconductive via has the desired width (diameter).

Embodiments of the present invention were explained above with referenceto the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to theseembodiments. In addition, the present invention can be embodied in manydifferent ways, including improvements and modifications as well aschanges, based on knowledge common in the art without departing from thespirit and scope of the claims.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   -   10: Board (material, substrate)    -   12: Conductive pattern    -   14, 24: Negative resist    -   16, 26: Photomask    -   18, 28: Light-shielding area    -   22, 30: Unexposed area    -   23: Exposed area    -   32, 34, 35: Opening    -   36: Seed layer    -   38: Plated layer    -   40, 44: Conductive via (pad)    -   42: Wiring layer

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of forming a circuit board, themethod comprising: forming a conductive pattern on a substrate; forminga first negative resist on the substrate after formation of theconductive pattern; partially exposing the first negative resist on thesurface of the conductive pattern to form a first via exposure portion;forming a second negative resist on the substrate after formation of thefirst via exposure portion; partially exposing the second negativeresist on the first via exposure portion to form a second via exposureportion larger than the first via exposure portion using a photomask,wherein the first via exposure portion comprises a first sub-portionthat overlaps a masked portion of the photomask and the second viaexposure portion and a second sub-portion that overlaps an un-maskedportion of the photomask and does not overlap the second via exposureportion; wherein partially exposing the second negative resist causesthe second via exposure portion to be unexposed, the first sub-portionof the first via exposure portion to be unexposed, and the secondsub-portion of the first via exposure portion to be exposed; developingthe first negative resist and the second negative resist after formationof the second via exposure portion to form a via opening reaching theconductive pattern; and filling the via opening with a conductivematerial.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein; forming the second viaexposure portion includes simultaneously partially exposing the secondnegative resist outside of the first via exposure portion to form aconductive wiring exposure portion; forming a via opening reaching theconductive pattern includes simultaneously forming a wiring opening inthe second negative resist; and filling the opening with a conductivematerial includes simultaneously filling the wiring opening with theconductive material.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein filling theopening with a conductive material includes: forming a seed layer on thesurface of the substrate excluding the via opening and the wiringopening, and in the interior of the via opening and the interior of thewiring opening; forming a conductive layer on the seed layer usingelectroplating; and polishing the surface of the substrate to leave theconductive material only in the via opening and the wiring opening. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein filling the opening with a conductivematerial includes: forming a seed layer on the surface of the substrateexcluding the via opening and in the interior of the via opening;forming a conductive layer on the seed layer using electroplating; andpolishing the surface of the substrate to leave the conductive materialonly in the via opening.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the firstnegative resist and the second negative resist are used as interlayerinsulating layers in the circuit board.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein forming the first via exposure portion includes direct exposureof the first negative resist using a laser.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the substrate is an organic substrate, and the circuit boardcomprises an interposer.